EFI Adding Apps to PrintMe Mobile Printing Technology

FOSTER CITY, CA—Oct. 21, 2010—EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced the next generation of its PrintMe mobile printing solution that empowers mobile workers to print from any Internet-enabled device, including laptops and mobile platforms such as iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Google Android devices.

Launched nine years ago today, EFI PrintMe enabled mobile workers to upload their documents to the PrintMe cloud and securely print them on any PrintMe-enabled printer. The solution has thousands of placements worldwide, with millions of pages printed, making it easy to print on the go, whether it is guest printing in an enterprise, printing from a hotel room or airport, or just using a mobile device on the street.

Now, with the launch of the next-generation PrintMe mobile printing solution, EFI has enhanced the capabilities of PrintMe’s “cloud aware” printers with powerful document conversion capabilities, unique smartphone apps, a new print driver, and SDK’s for developers who wish to add printing capabilities to their applications. The PrintMe iPhone application will be available in early November, enabling users to print airline boarding passes, Web pages, photos and more from their iPhone, iTouch or iPad. The application for BlackBerry phones will be available in December.

“Long before the explosion of smartphones and the current buzz about cloud-based services, EFI brought to market a cutting-edge mobile printing technology that has enabled millions of pages to be printed,” said Toby Weiss, general manager of Fiery and senior vice president, EFI. “Now, we’re bringing this same functionality to business professionals who want to print from any application, on any mobile device, to any printer wherever they are. There’s no need to buy special printers or wait years for these features to become available, since PrintMe works with any PrintMe-enabled printer today.”

PrintMe technology has caught the attention of EFI’s long-standing OEM partners. Xerox recently announced a portfolio of mobile print offerings, including PrintMe, as part of its mobile print portfolio.

“As a long term partner with EFI, we intend to leverage PrintMe technology to extend our portfolio of Xerox Mobile Solutions,” said Elizabeth Fox, vice president, Solutions Business Unit at Xerox Corporation. “EFI’s cloud-based printing will benefit many Xerox customers who are increasingly utilizing their mobile devices for their everyday work.”

In the early days of the original PrintMe service, the hospitality market was the largest adopter of the offering. Today, hotel and resort partners continue to support and trust the PrintMe solution.

“We have been actively using the EFI PrintMe service across 100 Extended Stay Deluxe properties since 2005,” said Ira Greenfield, vice president of technology at Extended Stay Hotels. “While others are just now talking about it, our guests have been using PrintMe to print from their laptops for years, and appreciate having a reliable, secure, and easy to use solution for printing on the go.”

“Cloud printing services are the next digital printing breakthrough, changing the business model from costly and limited ownership of individual printers to flexible anytime, anywhere access to printed communications,” said Pete Basiliere, research director, Gartner Imaging and Print Services. “Cloud printing services offer several quantifiable and qualitative benefits including reduced operating and capital costs, lower environmental impact and increased productivity, especially for mobile and remote employees.”

With the explosion of smartphones over the last few years, now more than ever, mobile workers need to be able to access and print their documents on the go. PrintMe is a convenient, easy and secure solution that allows mobile printing in businesses, coffee shops, airports, print for pay providers and any public gathering location that has a PrintMe “cloud aware” printer.

How it Works
With EFI PrintMe, users don’t need to connect cables, download software or install complex hardware components. They simply forward their document to print@printme.com or go to www.PrintMe.com through any Internet-enabled device, and upload their document. Users are then given a document ID number to retrieve the document on-demand at the printer, so materials stay confidential. PrintMe works with most printers from all leading manufacturers. The flexible solution can handle most document formats including Microsoft® Word, PowerPoint® and Excel®, as well as HTML, JPEG and PDF.

Users also can print from any desktop application using the “EFI PrintMe” driver, receiving a document ID from the driver dialog box and/or email. The user then simply goes to the PrintMe-enabled printer, enters the document ID, enters the number of copies, and prints.

How to Buy
Organizations that wish to PrintMe enable their printers should go to www.PrintMe.com or www.efi.com/printme or call EFI at 800-875-7117.